Quarters

The term quarters refered to accommodations on board spacecraft and space stations. Quarters could be found all over mobile and stationary facilities, varying in size and detail. An individual room was called a cabin.

Crew's quarters: The majority of the enlisted crew and junior officers shared quarters and bunk areas on small- to medium-sized vessels. (VOY: "Flashback") On starships of the Constitution-class, crew's quarters were structured as double suites, with private sleeping areas sharing a common, central bathroom. On starships of the Galaxy-class, crewmembers ranked lieutenant junior grade or higher were given their own quarters while personnel up to the rank of ensign were required to share quarters. (TNG: "Lower Decks")

Officers' quarters: Many starships featured separate quarters for higher-ranked officers. Usually, these staterooms were composed of two or more areas, featuring separate bed and bathrooms and a dedicated work and living area. (TNG: "Schisms")

VIP and captain's quarters: Each starship typically featured a number of VIP staterooms, reserved for guests. Usually, the accommodations of the ship's commanding officer were similar to these staterooms, being slightly larger than the standard officers' quarters. (TNG: "Sarek")

Starfleet starships typically featured three kinds of crew accommodations, with enlisted personnel and junior officers sharing quarters, higher-ranked officers being granted separate quarters, and slightly larger staterooms being reserved for the ship's captain and guests. As the starships grew larger, so did their crew accommodations, logically progressing toward more luxury and comfort. Thus officers' quarters on board vessels of the 23rd centuryConstitution-class were equal in size and comfort to the accommodations of junior officers on board the 24th centuryGalaxy-class. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country; TNG: "Lower Decks")

Crew quarters on board vessels of the NX-class were located on Decks B through E. Very few had a view of space – usually only those of the higher-ranked officers and those reserved for guests, which were located on Decks D and G. (ENT: "Cold Front", "Babel One") The structure and materials of the NX-class starship did not allow large transparent surfaces exposed to space; therefore, there were only a few small windows throughout the entire vessel.

Enlisted crew shared quarters aboard NX-class vessels. Shared quarters were small and very cramped, containing a set of bunk beds, a small desk, and two storage lockers. (ENT: "Cold Front") Officers' quarters were larger, containing a moderately-sized bed, a desk, several lockers, and various built-in shelves for further storage. The captain enjoyed the largest quarters, containing a double bed and multiple desk areas. All crew quarters had their own personal bathrooms containing a shower, lavatory, and sink.

The set for the NX-class captain's quarters was built on Paramount Stage 8. ("A Day In The Life Of A Director - Roxann Dawson", ENT Season 3 DVD special features) The captain's quarters had to be decorated in such a way as to make their contents look unplanned, even though every detail actually had to be heavily scrutinized. "As mundane as, 'What are we going to put on the walls in my room?' And 'What does this guy do? And what things did he do in the past that we can bring on this trip?'" related Jonathan Archer actor Scott Bakula. "This trip wasn't planned, so it's not like I had a designer come in and do my quarters." (Star Trek Monthly issue 85, p. 17) In fact, Bakula had some strong notions about how Archer's quarters should look, such as suggesting that it include a vintage 1960s NASA ashtray he had been given by a fan. "He thought that this would be a great addition to Archer's quarters," recollected set decorator James Mees. "I also worked with Scott in choosing photographs for this set, and both he and Rick Berman suggested the sports artifacts used here. They felt these props would help the audience understand the kind of person Archer was before he came aboard Enterprise." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 152, p. 36)

Officers' quarters' working area on board a ship of the original configuration

Officers' quarters' sleeping area on board a ship of the refit configuration

Crew quarters on board starships of the Constitution-class were located throughout the vessel's saucer section. On starships of the original configuration, the officers' quarters featured two areas, separated partly by a wall fragment. One area was allocated as sleeping area, featuring a comfortable bed, and another as work area, providing a desk and computer terminal. Entrance to a bathroom was provided through the quarters' sleeping area. Both areas could be configured to personal preference. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly"; TOS: "The Enemy Within")

On starships of the refit configuration, staterooms of the senior officers were composed of two areas which were separated by a retractable, transparent aluminum partition. The room's entrance opened into the living area. A library computer terminal and work desk were provided here. The room's corner circular nook, normally occupied by a dining booth, could be modified at the officer's request. The other half of the stateroom was a sleeping area, which held a single large bed that could double as sofa during off-duty relaxation. A transparent door led into the bathroom area.

Most crew quarters on board the Galaxy-class starship were located within the ship's saucer section, in order to provide safety for civilian and non-essential personnel during a saucer separation. However, the engineering hull also contained crew quarters, generally containing engineering personnel and their families. (TNG: "Imaginary Friend"; Star Trek Generations) Pets, including cats and dogs, were also allowed aboard ship. (TNG: "Data's Day")

The accommodations of junior officers were located on the interior of the ship and lacked windows. They were composed of a living area, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The living area contained a replicator terminal and was customizable with a variety of furniture and decorations.

Senior officers' quarters on board a Galaxy-class starship

The accommodations of higher-ranked officers lined the edge of the saucer section. (TNG: "Genesis") They contained a living area, a bedroom and a bathroom area. Most of the senior officers' quarters had several vertical windows each, through which one could see the stars. These windows were set into an angled ceiling.

The captain's quarters, located on Deck 8, were similar to the accommodations of senior officers, yet were slightly larger, providing a large desk area and work terminal. VIP staterooms shared the same layout, and were sometimes even larger. (TNG: "Too Short a Season")

In 2369, on stardate 46125.3, Captain Montgomery Scott, after being rescued from the crashed USS Jenolan, was shown his guest quarters aboard the Enterprise-D by EnsignKane. Scotty remarked at the luxury of starship guest quarters compared to those in his day aboard the Enterprise. (TNG: "Relics")

Due to the limited space available on board vessel of the Defiant-class, all crewmembers had to share their quarters with at least one other crewmate during normal times of operation – with the exception of the vessel's commanding officer, who was granted a separate room on Deck 1 which doubled as the captain's ready room. Crew accommodations included twenty-two main cabins and ten contingency cabins, each equipped with a minimum of two bunks. These cabins could be outfitted with as many as six bunks, allowing for a potential total crew of 192. Each cabin was equipped with one replicator port and one standard computer terminal. Overall, crew quarters on board Defiant-class vessels were the most spartan in Starfleet. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "Defiant", "Past Tense, Part II", "Rules of Engagement")

Starships of the Sovereign-class featured crew accommodations similar in size and layout to those on board vessels of the Galaxy-class. The quarters of senior officers typically featured a living area in the center of the dwelling, which held a personal workstation, couch, replicator and a small dining area. Usually the bedroom would be connected by a half-bathroom with wash basin, mirror, several drawers and a sonic shower. For members of the senior staff, this area was usually upgraded to a full-size bathroom with bathtub. (Star Trek: Insurrection)

Most quarters on space stationDeep Space 9 were located in the station's habitat ring. Several of these accommodations featured two bedrooms located on either side of the large living area, several octagonal windows providing a view into space, a replicator unit and a door along the same wall offering egress into the corridor. Typically, spots of light were shone down through many circular holes in the ceiling, matching a lighting technique found in the station's corridors. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

A set of quarters which Jake Sisko and Nog occupied in 2373 featured a small living area between two sleeping areas, with egress provided on each side of the room to the station's corridors. (DS9: "The Ascent")

The set for crew quarters aboard DS9 was built on Paramount Stage 4. The set was commonly redressed for whoever's quarters it was meant to portray, such as those of the Siskos (during the first season of the show), the O'Briens and any visitors to the station. (The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, p. 8) This method was reused by Production Designer Herman Zimmerman, he having developed it on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Although the arrangement of the set was altered to signify each character's rank, Sisko's quarters were made to look pretty much the same as O'Brien's, except for using different props. The set's lighting arrangement could also be changed via the use of mirrors positioned above the ceiling to project light into different corners of the set. "You can't see them because they're up above the grid ceilings," explained Director of Photography Marvin V. Rush, "but the mirrors allow us to tilt the light in whatever direction we want. It's very fast and very easy and it looks unusual." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 6)

The crew quarters on board a Romulan D'deridex-class warbird were located on the ship's "C" Deck. They were sparsely furnished with a table and chairs in the center of the floor, and a set of bunk beds incorporated into the walls. Crew quarters could also have force fields integrated in and around their bulkheads. (DS9: "The Die is Cast")

Variations are known to include a bed fully detached from the wall, and a sink with mirror along the far left wall from the entryway. (TNG: "Face of the Enemy")

The contents of crew quarters required much attention to detail. While working on Star Trek: Enterprise, James Mees – who, as set decorator, not only worked on Enterprise but also on Star Trek: The Next Generation (except for its first season) and Star Trek: Voyager – commented, "When I have a permanent character I spend a lot of time thinking about it [....] If it's for a guest star, we generally try to use stock and rework it a bit." Due to having a theater background, Mees was inclined to base the personal items of the regular characters' quarters on their persona. "You not only do what is typical of him [or her], but also add something to their character," explained Mees. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 3, p. 84) He often took the input of the regular cast into account as well. "I like to have the actors personalize these spaces," he said, "so that they can reflect their ideas of what their characters are like in private." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 152, p. 36)

It was decided during production of "The Cage" that the crew quarters would be contained in the saucer section of the Constitution-class. (The Making of Star Trek, p. 106) This information was not established on-screen until later in the series, however.

It was not made clear at any point during the run of the original Star Trek series whether the members of the Enterprise's contingent of junior officers each had their own cabin or shared bunk rooms. On this topic, Gene Roddenberry stated, "My feeling about the crew was that indeed they did have their own staterooms. The services today have always annoyed me, putting up enlisted men like cattle. I think all men deserve dignity and it was my feeling that by that century, we would have come to understand that." (The World of Star Trek, 3rd ed., p. 39) D.C. Fontana commented that "bunk rooms and other variations of crew quarters" were never shown on TOS precisely because of the series' budgetary limitations. (The World of Star Trek, 3rd ed., p. 40) During the series run, only one set was built for all the crew quarters on board the Enterprise, which was on Paramount Stage 31 and was redressed as and when required. ([2]; The World of Star Trek, 3rd ed., p. 38)

Captain Kirk's quarters were designed by Matt Jefferies. (Star Trek: The Original Series Sketchbook, p. 77; et al.) They were considerably different from the earlier-built set used as Captain Pike's cabin in "The Cage". ("The Menagerie, Part I" text commentary, TOS Season 1 DVD) The smallness of Kirk's bed in the original series was not in keeping with the fact he earned a reputation of being an habitual womanizer. (The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, p. 90) Gene Roddenberry was not entirely satisfied with the decor of Kirk's cabin either, stating, "We should have had a head in Captain Kirk's stateroom, certainly." (The World of Star Trek, 3rd ed., p. 39) The set for Kirk's quarters was positioned immediately adjacent to the set for a briefing room heavily used in "The Menagerie, Part I" and "The Menagerie, Part II". The set for Kirk's cabin had to be partially disassembled during the making of that two-parter, to make room for a projector to be placed far enough behind a screen in the briefing room set to allow for rear projection onto the screen. ("The Menagerie, Part II" text commentary, TOS Season 1 DVD)

In TOS, Spock's cabin was a redress of Captain Kirk's quarters. There weren't many differences between the two areas, though Spock's cabin did include a few unusual artefacts, presumably of Vulcan origin. ("The Menagerie, Part I" text commentary, TOS Season 1 DVD) The script of the second season episode "Amok Time" erroneously notes that that episode was the first to show Spock's quarters. The same teleplay goes on to state, "We may get the impression even Kirk does not visit here often. The room is distinctly Vulcan in decoration and mood. It may be faintly Oriental... most of what decoration we see will be simple, sparse, perhaps some indication of a warrior heritage."

The set for former captain Pike's quarters in "The Menagerie, Part I" was constructed with walls from Captain Kirk's quarters, though they were located in different spaces of the soundstage. ("The Menagerie, Part I" text commentary, TOS Season 1 DVD) For Sarek's quarters in season 2's "Journey to Babel", that episode's script specifies the room was to be a "redress" too and "not made up to suit Vulcan taste."

One of the first things that Gene Roddenberry knew he wanted for the ultimately aborted spin-off television series Star Trek: Phase II was for Kirk to have larger quarters than he had been allotted in the original Star Trek series. (The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, p. 90) The walls for the set of the Phase II captain's quarters were constructed by late August 1977. (Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, p. 40) The writers/directors guide for that series describes the captain's quarters as "a two-room complex," with one room serving as a working area and an adjacent room being the captain's sleeping quarters. The guide notes that there was access between the rooms and that a corridor was also accessible from either room. The same document specifies that the captain's quarters contained "viewing and communications devices" and instructs that Xon's cabin would be a redress of the set for the captain's quarters. The same was to have been true of various "passenger" quarters, except when larger passenger quarters were required (in which case, the Enterprise's briefing room was to have been redressed as the sizable passenger cabin). (Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, p. 94) Mike Minor illustrated a concept painting for the captain's quarters aboard the Phase II Enterprise. (Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series)

The only quarters referred to in the first-draft script of "In Thy Image" (which is fully reprinted in Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, pp. 122-230) are those assigned to Kirk. However, between that story's transformation from its original intended capacity as Phase II's pilot episode to its eventual development into the film Star Trek: The Motion Picture, some of the scenes set in Kirk's quarters were changed to being set elsewhere on the Enterprise (for example, the introduction of a showering Ilia probe was moved from Kirk's quarters to Ilia's own quarters, as can be seen by comparing the film to page 191 of Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series).

The design of Kirk's quarters in The Motion Picture was influenced by Mike Minor's concept artwork for the Phase II version of the room. (Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series) The movie depiction of the area was designed by art director Leon Harris and was constructed on Paramount Stage 9. (The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, pp. 90 & 95) Kirk's quarters in the film include a colorful, waist-high wall console whose controls are representative of the color scheme that was intended for Phase II. (audio commentary, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Blu-ray)) The massive translucent sliding-door in the same quarters was conceived by production designer Harold Michelson. A large wall display that alternates between a viewscreen and an example of minimalist artwork, featuring apparently randomly arranged blocks of color, involved a rare use of rear-projection (for the viewscreen) and was backlit for the artwork. (audio commentary, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition)) The furniture included in the set was covered with girdle material, which was extremely easy to stretch and dye. (The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, pp. 88 & 91) In the Blu-ray audio commentary for the film, Michael Okuda states that a door which is also in Kirk's quarters but is always shown as closed, with its contents never revealed on-screen, actually led into "a little breakfast nook," including a little round table and a small couch. Non-canon reference guide writer Shane Johnson supported this claim, describing the table as a "corner booth/table unit." He went on to say, "It had a clear plexiglas tabletop and snazzy upholstery." [3]

The set for Kirk's quarters in The Motion Picture was redressed to serve as Ilia's quarters in the same film. (text commentary, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition)) As with the set's other appearance in the movie, Ilia's quarters were designed by Leon Harris. (The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, p. 90) The set remained on Stage 9, the modification costing US$3,000. (The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, p. 95) The revamped layout included a sonic shower that was reused in TNG: "The Naked Now" and a dresser with mirrors that, in an effort to avoid unwanted reflections for one particular scene of the movie, were temporarily replaced with black card. (text commentary, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition))

For one scene in The Motion Picture, displays seen fleetingly on a monitor at Spock's science station were reused diagrams of Constitution-class crew quarters from Franz Joseph's Star Trek Blueprints. [4]

The same set as was used for Kirk and Ilia's quarters in The Motion Picture was again redressed, to serve as Spock's cabin in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. (text commentary, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition)) In fact, it was only the small bedroom portion of the two-room set for Kirk's quarters that was converted into Spock's cabin. (text commentary, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (The Director's Edition)DVD) According to Shane Johnson, the meditation alcove in Spock's quarters replaced the unseen booth table from Kirk's quarters in The Motion Picture. [5] For Spock's quarters, producer Robert Sallin wanted the centerpiece of the set to be a tapestry of the Vulcan IDIC. Joe Jennings remarked, "In drawings, [it] made Spock's cabin look like an opium den." There was insufficient time to commission the tapestry, however. Instead, Jennings and Mike Minor retained Sallin's selection of the IDIC symbol and devised a cheaper, quick but colorful substitute, designing a wall mural that was composed of hundreds of small metal discs, thousands of sequins hung from pins. To some (particularly Southern Californians), the design may look like a certain company sign. (The Making of the Trek Films, 3rd ed., pp. 29 & 54) For instance, director Nicholas Meyer described the mural as "the Sparkletts water-truck motif." (audio commentary, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (The Director's Edition) DVD) Leonard Nimoy made a similar comment. Related Meyer, "[He] looked at Spock's cabin for the first time and said, 'This looks like a Sparklett's water truck.'" (Star Trek Movie Memories, p. 132) The similarities between this style of water-truck sign and the IDIC mural extended from the latter's creation. "I was dubious at first," said Sallin, about granting permission for the mural to be crafted. "It looks expensive but wasn't. The chap who makes the signs came with his little kit, which is really only a punch, some swivel wire things, and all these tiny little reflective metal discs that come in a range of hundreds of colors and tones. He worked from a big design and put it together in no time." (The Making of the Trek Films, 3rd ed., p. 29)

The production design of Spock's cabin in Star Trek II highly disappointed Leonard Nimoy, who communicated this frustration to Nick Meyer in no uncertain terms. (audio commentary, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Special Edition)DVD) Meyer characterized the actor's initial reaction to the set as one of "a few moments where I goofed" and said of Nimoy's opinion of the glittering mural, "He thought [it] was very cheesy." (Star Trek Movie Memories, p. 132; audio commentary, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (The Director's Edition) DVD) Although the set also included a smaller but still highly decorative mirror that Meyer liked, the director was mainly in agreement with Nimoy's dislike of the set. Concerning the actor's opinion of the mural being "very cheesy," Meyer conceded, "I think he was right." Meyer stated about the set in general, "This was something that I did not attend to properly. Spock's room, as a Vulcan, I think, should have been atmospheric and mysterious and different [....] It should have been a very different [scene]." However, Meyer felt that the audience generally wasn't very conscious of how the room could have been improved. "Nobody too much minds, 'til I point it out to them, how dull the room is and how, sort of, over-lit the scene is," he reckoned. (audio commentary, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (The Director's Edition) DVD)

During the production of Star Trek II, Robert Sallin decided that the decor of Kirk's shipboard quarters in the film should include nautical artifacts, mirroring the decor of Kirk's apartment on Earth. (The Making of the Trek Films, 3rd ed., p. 15) Kirk's quarters in Star Trek II look similar to how they appeared in The Motion Picture, though somewhat more comfortable. (text commentary, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (The Director's Edition) DVD) In fact, the set used for the captain's quarters in the second film was the same set as used in the first movie. (text commentaries, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Special Edition) and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (The Director's Edition) DVDs)

For Star Trek III, Leonard Nimoy had an opportunity to improve the set for Spock's quarters, since he was the director of that film. Owing to his discomfort with the set, this was exactly what he had in mind. "I wanted to redesign and redevelop it," he admitted. (audio commentary, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Special Edition) DVD/Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Blu-ray)) Although the room was made to look much as it had in Star Trek II, its layout was subtly altered, making the area darker and more mysterious. (text commentary, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Special Edition) DVD) Nimoy also changed Spock's quarters from the gray they had been in the previous film, feeling that this did not match the Vulcan color scheme he wanted for the third movie. He instead brightened the tonality of the set with deep red, orange and amber. (The Making of the Trek Films, 3rd ed., p. 54)

The same set was planned to be redressed for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, as Gillian Taylor's apartment on Earth, though the proposed scene was thereafter removed from the film before it could be shot and the redressing, midway through, was halted. "[The set] was a mess. Stripped of its furniture and half remodeled and repainted," recalled Shane Johnson, who toured the set after the film was shot. The tour also enabled him to view the corner booth table unit that, he says, "always had been in Kirk's quarters but was never seen on film." [6]

When it came time for Nick Meyer to co-write the screenplay for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and to direct that film, he paid particular attention to how the movie depicted Spock's quarters, later recalling, "I was working overtime to make sure that he had a special place." (audio commentary, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Special Edition) DVD) Meyer felt that he was slightly more attentive to such details by that point, having directed four non-Star Trek films in the interim between The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country. (audio commentary, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (The Director's Edition) DVD)

The only crew quarters to be described in detail in the script for Star Trek VI is Spock's cabin. The script details this area thus; "In contrast with his Spartan personality, the room is a voluptuous incense-laden lair, filled with curtains and smoke." [7]

The quarters occupied by Kirk and Spock in Star Trek VI were actually the same set, simply redressed. Other than being decorated differently for the two characters, Spock's quarters also had a central support column that Kirk's cabin did not have. The set was the same as had served as Kirk's quarters in The Motion Picture and its reuses included representing Data's quarters in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Whereas the cabins for Kirk and Spock in Star Trek VI were reuses of the front half of Data's quarters, the back half served as junior crew quarters for the film. The set was demolished following the production of Star Trek VI. (text commentary, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Special Edition) DVD)

The Galaxy-class quarters set involved upward-sliding walls and modular wall units. Reversing these allowed for the set to be converted into its junior officers' quarters outlay. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 3rd ed., p. 10)

The producers of TNG wanted the quarters for senior officers and guests to have many windows. "Originally, in the personal quarters they were to be floor-to-ceiling windows," remembered illustrator Andrew Probert, "but a bed or a sofa blocked it anyway so it was cut off." (Star Trek Monthly issue 19, p. 41) Production Designer Herman Zimmerman designed these quarters to incorporate a window wall that could be tilted to resemble an outer location in either the lower or upper half of the Galaxy-class saucer section. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 3rd ed., p. 22) Despite this, the windows usually matched those on the upper surface of the ship's saucer module. Since the Galaxy-class miniatures included many hundreds of such windows, there were presumably hundreds of such living units on board the ship. After the set for the Galaxy-class quarters was constructed, the windows therein were backed by velvet backdrops to represent the stars. At first hand-cranked but later motorized, these backdrops avoided expensive visual effects when the stars were to be shown as if the ship was not at warp. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 3rd ed., p. 10)

Even when used as quarters for senior officers and guests, the size of the set – consisting of five bays in total – was significantly adjusted from use to use. Stated Rick Sternbach, "We learned from Star Trek: The Next Generation that we could take our big five-bay quarter set and divide that into two bays, three bays, four bays." (Star Trek Monthly issue 21, p. 25) Set decorator John Dwyer recalled, "Herman [Zimmerman] had designed the quarters with the wonderful flexibility of being able to put walls at each of the ribs. We could have four, three, or two bays; we never had less than two. The more bays you had, the higher up you were on the food chain." For example, Picard had four bays in his quarters. Another three-quarters of a bay was added especially for Lwaxana Troi's quarters. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 12, p. 24)

Former TNG writing staffer Ronald D. Moore similarly had a nitpick about the decor in several of the Galaxy-class quarters. "My big bugaloo with the quarters were always that they had pictures of space on the wall," he laughed, "which I always thought was absurd [...] If you've got a window looking out at space, do you then hang a big picture of space on the other wall?" (audio commentary, Star Trek Generations (Special Edition)DVD)

The crew quarters of the Intrepid-class were a lot more versatile than those of TNG and allowed more space than had previously been available. They involved individual setups that were changed in accordance with whichever character whose quarters were being depicted. Production Designer Richard James remarked, "They're modular, so they can take up anywhere between one and four bays depending on the person who's there." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue #1, p. 69)

The Intrepid-class crew quarters also intentionally reflected the exterior profile of the class. (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue #1, p. 69) For instance, Rick Sternbach commented, "The only place Captain Janeway's quarters logically fit was on deck three. It was the only logical place we could plant a bay consisting of five big windows." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 45) Another interior facet that mirrored the Intrepid-class' exterior design was the curved outer wall of the quarters. The angled ceiling of the Galaxy-class quarters was eliminated, however; this is what facilitated the increased availability of spaciousness. Richard James commented, "It allows the action to get right up to the windows now." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue #1, p. 69)

Rick Sternbach observed that the production team learned from the past in other ways too; having discovered the five-bay quarters set could be split into multiple arrangements of smaller bays, Sternbach oversaw that the variety of Intrepid-class quarters had a range of bays. "I made sure that there were anywhere from one to four window bays on the exterior hull, so we can say that Tuvok's quarters are there, Chakotay's quarters are there. Janeway is the only one who's got the full five bays." Although this distinctive feature of the captain's quarters meant that its location was obvious to the production team, determining where specific other crew quarters were would realistically have taken them considerably more investigation. (Star Trek Monthly issue 21, pp. 25-26)

As can be determined from the second draft script of "Prime Factors", Tom Paris' quarters were scripted to appear in that installment. This scene was changed, however, so that it was filmed on the set for Voyager's mess hall. The scene's scripted description makes a judgment about the character of Paris based on the state of his quarters, stating, "Paris' quarters are a mess. Apparently, tidiness is not a priority for Paris."